The days are growing longer and the early signs of spring are all around us as the yellow forsythia flowering shrubs start to bloom. The daffodils have already stretched from the ground and are getting ready to unfurl their yellow trumpet flowers to announce the early arrival of spring.  We are running a couple of weeks early at this point but still have a high risk of hard freezes for about another 8 weeks.  If you want to do some food gardening you can already be planting cool season veggies like seed potatoes, onion plants, onion sets and many of the green leafy crops like cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, swiss chard, kohlrabi and lettuce or root crops like radishes, turnips and carrots.  This is a great time to plant asparagus, rhubarb and horseradish as well as strawberries, blackberries, grapes, gooseberries, raspberries and blueberries.

For those of you that want to control crabgrass, sandburs, summer grasses and broadleaf weeds this is the optimum time to apply the pre-emergent herbicides or weed killers.  You can get these products as a weed killer only or available mixed with lawn fertilizer as a weed and feed type product. For years we have advised to apply these from when the forsythia start to flower to when the Redbuds are done flowering. The forsythia are in bloom and spring is running early so you need to apply these products sooner rather than later as most will only kill the weed seeds as they germinate.  Once weeds have germinated the pre-emergents are not effective except for formulas that contain Dimension or Sulfentrazone that are still effective on some weeds after germination while the weeds are still very young and small.  In a normal year crabgrass and summer weeds will germinate from mid March to early May so applying your pre-emergents from now until mid March will allow the products to provide the most effective “birth control” for crabgrass and weeds.

Look for a herbicide or weed and feed product that contains prodiamine (Barricade), Dimension, Team, Balan or Treflan to give you good control of crabgrass and most weeds in your lawns.  Versions of the Dimension, Treflan and Gallery can even be applied to ornamental flowerbeds and container gardens to give pre-emergent weed control in those areas.  Remember to read and follow the directions and not to use a herbicide any place you plan to plant new seeds for at least the next 6 to 8 weeks.  Visit with your local nurseryman for help in picking out the right pre-emergent for your lawn and flowerbeds.

The Oklahoma Horticulture Society will have Felder Rushing, a very entertaining horticulture speaker, Sunday afternoon, February 26^th at 1PM at the Education Building at the Oklahoma City Zoo. This is free to the public.

This is a very good time to take soil tests and prepare your soil for spring. Good soil is the best foundation for gardening success. You can get your soil tested for a very reasonable price at your OSU County Extension Office.  Dig several holes 6” deep in the area you want to test, and collect about a pint of soil from those area holes to be tested.  You may want to take separate tests in your front lawn, a front flowerbed and a backyard vegetable garden.  These tests will allow you to target your fertilizer activities and avoid over applying or wasting your fertilizer.  You often will save more than the cost of the soil tests by being able to select the right fertilizer and applying just the right amounts when you get ready to fertilize.  This is a good practice for the environment and your pocketbook.

This is an excellent season to remove all the dead plant tops from last year’s annuals and to spade, till or work the soil in your flowerbeds as you prepare for spring.  It is a great time to mark and dig new flowerbeds while removing all the old grassroots.  Whether a new flowerbed or preparing an existing bed, you may add and mix more sphagnum peat moss, composted bark, composted cotton burr hulls or other organic matter to improve your flowerbeds.

This is the season when gardeners can get overwhelmed with seed company catalogs, internet mailers and links, garden shows and other material to get us longing for spring.  It is fun to look through these materials, the pretty pictures, the fun catalog copy and to identify some new plants, seeds or bulbs, you want to try in your yard this season.  I encourage you to study these resources and then visit your local nursery or garden center to try and buy these new items locally when possible.  Sometimes there will be plants that just aren’t available locally that you may need to access over the internet or through a catalog.  Locally grown plants will usually adapt better and your local nurseryman can often recommend even better varieties or share gardening tips that will increase your chances of gardening success.

Houseplants can lift our spirits, give us hope for spring,  and add fresh oxygen to our enclosed homes and offices.  House plant sales are always highest during this season when we are “cooped up” inside so much more.  Not only do houseplants add color, life, beauty and interest to our home but numerous studies by NASA and others prove their value in cleaning our air of pollutants while producing the fresh oxygen we mammals require.  Plants and humans as well as other animals were designed to function or work together.  Plants need the carbon dioxide we give off and that can poison us when levels are too high and we need the clean, fresh oxygen that plants produce whether outside or inside.  That oxygen is important outside for our whole biosphere but it may be even more important inside the closed up spaces of our homes, offices and even spaceships.

All plants have this natural ability to filter our air, cleaning up carbon dioxide and other pollutants but studies show some plants are especially effective like chlorophytum or airplane plant, members of the Dracaena family, and spathphyllum or peace plant.  There are hundreds, probably thousands of different plants which can grow well inside.  Their success will vary depending on your light levels, the temperature you maintain, air drafts, humidity levels and your watering habits.  The early plants grown inside by our grandparents were ficus or rubber plants, philodendron ivy, golden pothos ivy,Boston Fern,  and growing out sweet potatoes or avocado pits in the kitchen or bathroom window.

Today, there are many new selections of ficus, dracaena, philodendron, and pothos that make very successful houseplants.  For very low light you can use the traditional Sansevaria or snake plant, Aglaonema (Chinese Evergreen), or Aspidistra  (Cast Iron plant).  When placed in better light the spathphyllum will periodically produce white “flag” type flowers to add a beautiful contrast to their bright green shiny foliage.  There are several palms that do well indoors including the dwarf Neanthe Bella, Ponytail palms, Rhaphis, Bamboo, and if you have better light Areca and Majesty palms.

Numerous other great house plants include Bromeliads, Crotons, Calathea, Hawaiian Schefflera, Bird of Paradise, selected ferns, Dieffenbachia, Nepthytis, Anthurium and many others.

Remember most all plants will perform better and be healthier with more or better light but many will tolerate and hold up in lower light.  The more light, the more water most plants will need.  Let house plant soil get dry to the touch and then water.  Our home and office heating systems tend to dry out the air, so it is always a good idea to mist the foliage of your houseplants from time to time to raise the humidity around them or you can put the plants on a saucer of gravel filled with water.

Select a few houseplants to add to your space and enjoy the fresh air and beauty they can add to your life.

This is the season when we traditionally reflect on our life, the year gone by and plan or think about the year ahead as we set new goals and plot new directions.  This process of review and planning can also be beneficial when you are thinking about your yard, landscaping, and gardening efforts.  Do you want to create a new flowerbed, do you want to plant more trees or shrubs?  Do you want to add an automatic drip or sprinkler watering system?  Do you want to grow your own fresh vegetables? Do you want to add and landscape a porch, patio or outdoor living area?  Do you want to add a hobby greenhouse?  Do you need to prune and shape your trees and shrubs?  Do you want to add a water garden, a butterfly or wildlife garden?  Do you want to add more garden benches in your yard, start an orchard or vineyard, plant an herb or kitchen garden?  There are so many fun things you can do to improve the appearance and add value to your home or property while getting healthy exercise and enjoying time outside that your yard deserves consideration as you set your goals for the New Year.

We humans are tempted to want to do all these things but if you will focus on a couple of garden or horticultural projects you want to tackle this year, you are more likely to get them accomplished.  Winter weather keeps us inside a lot more and that gives us a little extra time to research your projects in newspaper or magazine stories, in books, seed and garden catalogs, or over the internet.  You can attend classes or workshops at your local OSU County extension office, Oklahoma Horticulture Society or participate in local garden clubs and plant societies.  Don’t forget that one of your best resources is often a good visit with your local nursery or garden center.  Their local knowledge, experience and input can dramatically increase your chances to be successful in your landscaping and gardening efforts.

2011 was one of the most difficult years of my lifetime, for those raising crops or plants.  We had an exceptionally cold winter last year that set all kinds of record lows followed by a summer drought and heat that tested the very will to live of many trees and plants.  Hopefully we got those extreme weather challenges out of the way last year!  We hope and pray that we can all relax and enjoy a more “normal” year ahead and give all our plants from tomatoes to trees a chance to really perform and enrich our life experiences.  We hope that 2012 is your best year yet and produces great satisfaction and happiness as you become more engaged with nature in your very own yard.

Plants of all types are always a good gift for gardeners, but there are many  gift options for those in your life who like to spend time in their yard or gardening.  You can always give garden tools, gloves or pruning tools.  You may give a specific plant you’ve heard them talking about or longing for.  You might consider a membership in the Oklahoma Horticulture Society,  the Myriad Gardens Conservatory or the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden.  You could give a good gardening book, a trip on a horticultural tour or a subscription to a horticultural magazine.  Our state and most every yard could use more trees so consider giving a special tree or shrub.  If the particular tree, shrub or rose is not available at this time of year, you could give a gift certificate from their favorite nursery or garden center so that they select the right plant at the proper season.  Years ago, my brothers and I gave a gift certificate to our grandparents to help in their yard the following spring and then we actually did it.  That was a special gift for Grandma and Grandpa and for us as we really cherish the memories of that time spent together visiting and telling stories while working in their garden.  You may want to give a certificate of your own to help out with pruning, planting, mowing or some other gardening activity to one of your loved ones.

Christmas is a very special time that should be full of reflection, memories, time with family and loved ones.  We hope that you won’t just rush through these events but will make time to enjoy one another and make special new memories to reflect back on in future years.

Take time to sing some Christmas songs around your Christmas tree, to light candles around the poinsettias while you share family stories and to soak in the scent of fresh evergreens as you enjoy the holiday feasts. Merry Christmas to all!